Tag Archives: book

The young adult adventure story I illustrated, Ghoul’s Gold – the Mystery of the Chantry Island Treasure, has sold 1000 copies since it was published this fall! Author Doug Archer is looking at expanding distribution in the new year. In the meantime, I have a few copies at the studio if you’d like to pick one up before Christmas. They’re $9 each.
It’s also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.ca/Ghouls-Mystery-Chantry-Island-Treasure/dp/0994773005

I’m pretty pleased with my latest art book, a 7″ square hardback called “Hey buddy, got a light?”Comprised of 25 paintings of animals smoking, the book will be sent to art directors but is also available to the public. These little books from Blurb have the feel of a children’s primer (indeed, my previous portfolio book was titled “Primer”).

“Hey buddy, got a light?” has its roots in a show of the same title I exhibited at Toronto’s Saving Grace cafe in 2005. The absurdity of all those animals smoking was amplified by the cafe’s close confines, and the exhibition was a near-sell out. Publishing this book lets me to share the aggregate impact of all the pieces in one place again.

I’ve included a handful of sketches in the book as well, where you can see a bit of my creative process.

Last September, I met with Toronto real estate agent Kate Watson to discuss a book project. Kate’s promotional material has always utilized standout graphics, so I wanted to build on that while adding my own style. We wanted something fresh, but also something that clients would hold on to.

We decided to create a pocket guidebook to Toronto real estate, featuring drawings of her clients’ actual homes. Houses are identified by neighbourhood (neighbourhoods are a big deal in Toronto), and the 32 page booklet includes invitations in the form of retro-looking coupons, complete with “cut here” lines.

For the ink and gouache house drawings, I worked from a variety of sources including MLS photos, my own reconnaissance shots, and even some Google Street View searches. The biggest challenge turned out to be not the homes, but coming up with ways to refer to the other half of a semi-detached house, or the show the huge trees in front. I didn’t want to deny the reality of the Toronto streetscape, but I needed to emphasize the right house! Some of my favourite drawings from These homes are gorgeous! are featured below.